Fiber Optics Industry Leaders Announce Collaboration to Define a New Multicore Fiber Design Optimized for AI Data Center Campuses

SPARTANBURG, S.C. | March 11, 2026 | America Fujikura Ltd. (AFL), Corning Incorporated, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., and TeraHop PTE. LTD., today announced a collaboration to develop a new Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) called the “SDM4 MCF MSA,” that outlines the critical four-core multicore fiber design, performance, and interoperability requirements for passive optical connections in data center applications.

As AI network scale-out creates an unprecedented demand for higher density optical infrastructure and traditional single-core fiber solutions approach their practical limitations, the industry, including hyperscalers, is turning to new technologies like multicore fiber that can deliver more capacity and connectivity within the same physical infrastructure.

This collaboration aims to define the operating procedures, scope, technical requirements, and other terms of the SDM4 MCF MSA to facilitate multicore fiber adoption across diverse environments, such as intra-campus networks and other short-reach interconnect applications operating in the O-band. It can also serve as a foundation and help accelerate development of new global technology and information standards in standardization bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), associated with multicore fiber solutions.

Members of the MSA intend to finalize and publicly release the initial SDM4 MCF Specification in the coming months in concert with leading hyperscaler(s) support. Additional MSA members will be welcomed after the initial release to support ongoing multicore fiber ecosystem development and market adoption.

Notes:

MSA: An industry-defined, multi-vendor agreement that establishes common technical and interoperability requirements—typically documented in an MSA specification—so that products and components from different suppliers can work together.

AI scale-out: The horizontal expansion of AI infrastructure by adding more servers, racks, or GPUs so workloads can run across larger multi-node clusters, increasing demands on network interconnects.

O-band: The ‘original’ optical transmission band, typically 1260–1360 nm and centered around 1310 nm, commonly used for short-reach optical links because chromatic dispersion is low near this wavelength.

About America Fujikura Ltd. (AFL)
Founded in 1984, AFL is a global manufacturer providing end-to-end solutions to the broadband, energy, data center, AI and industrial markets. With products in over 130 countries, AFL specializes in fiber optic cable and hardware, transmission/compression and substation accessories, connectivity solutions, fusion splicers, and test and inspection equipment. Guided by customer-focused and community-centered values and a strong commitment to safety, the company operates manufacturing facilities worldwide and provides a comprehensive portfolio of services and solutions supporting network infrastructure, data centers, service providers, wireless and power grid modernization. For more information, visit www.AFLglobal.com.

About Corning Incorporated
Corning (www.corning.com) is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, with a 175-year track record of life-changing inventions. Corning applies its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics along with its deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop category-defining products that transform industries and enhance people’s lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in RD&E, a unique combination of material and process innovation, and deep, trust-based relationships with customers who are global leaders in their industries. Corning’s capabilities are versatile and synergistic, which allows the company to evolve to meet changing market needs, while also helping our customers capture new opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning’s markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, solar, semiconductors, and life sciences.

About Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. was established in 1897. Since then, based on electric wire and cable manufacturing technologies, we have conducted our original research and development and strenuously striven for the establishment of new businesses. These efforts have allowed us to create new products and technologies, as well as diversify our business fields. Currently, we operate globally in the following five segments: Environment & Energy; Infocommunications; Automotive; Electronics; and Industrial Materials. We contribute to society through environmental friendly and fair business activities.

About TeraHop PTE.LTD.
TeraHop is a world leader in providing high-speed optical connectivity solutions for AI and Data-Center networking applications, with head quarter in Singapore and global footprints in the US, Thailand, Taiwan and Suzhou China. For more information, please visit  www.terahop.com.